John James Audobon

John James Audobon is best known for The Birds of America, the book that contains his illustrations of all 435 birds that were known in the United States around 1827, the year the book was first published. But - according to this PBS article - "he lived in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Louisiana, South Carolina and New York – traveled everywhere from Labrador to the Dry Tortugas off Florida, from the Republic of Texas to the mouth of the Yellowstone – was a merchant, salesman, teacher, hunter, itinerant portraitist and woodsman, an artist and a scientist."
Listen to New York Public Library Curator, Michael Inman, talk about Audubon's early life and the process of getting TBOA pusblished in a two part podcast from Stuff You Missed in History Class. It's worth your time, I promise.
Youtube: Weather Report - Birdland